There's something happening down in Stewart Street, and it has caught much of Bathurst by surprise.
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Stewart Street is becoming a new hive of commercial activity that few would have seen coming just a few years ago.
And it's a trend that could significantly change one of the major entrances to our city.
Stewart Street is not one of Bathurst's most attractive thoroughfares, with thousands of trucks and cars rumbling through on a daily basis along the busy section of the Great Western Highway.
But those same vehicle movements offer a huge opportunity for businesses who can find the key to enticing drivers to get out of their cars.
The area is also, presumably, an affordable alternative for businesses looking to escape the high rents in local shopping centres.
Terry White Chemmart was the first major retailer to flee to Stewart Street after leaving the Bathurst City Shopping Centre last year.
The move surprised many customers who wondered how the pharmacy would go in such a (relatively) out-of-the-way location, but other businesses are now also eyeing the area.
A development application currently before Bathurst Regional Council is seeking approval to open a new outlet for international fast food chain Taco Bell at the intersection of Stewart Street and Howick Street, and that would certainly bring something new to that area.
And now, further along Stewart Street, DAs have been lodged for a new motel, cafe and bakery development (pictured).
Add to that a hunting supplies store, an Australia Post store, a gym, a few takeaways and a tile warehouse and you get the feeling that Stewart Street is becoming the "anything goes" area of Bathurst city.
And it can't be a bad thing.
At a time when bricks and mortar retail is struggling to survive in an increasingly online world, it's sad to see the impact it is having on some traditional shopping strips.
So the emergence of a new shopping area is at once a surprise and something of a delight.
Each of the DAs currently before council has some way to go before coming to fruition, but there appears now to be some momentum in that part of town that has been missing for some time.
We'd like to see it continue.